"The general is here, please give me your instructions, commander-in-chief." A general walked in and knelt down on one knee with his fists clasped.
Fu Youde took out a token and threw it in front of the general, "Passed it, appease the Mongolian and Yuan people, and establish a mutual market to allow Mongolian and Han merchants to trade."
"It's an order!" Although the general was surprised that the commander-in-chief would give such an order, he was obviously fighting to the death with Meng Yuan not long ago, but now he is about to open up mutual trade and exchange?
However, he, a small general, did not dare to question the commander's order. After receiving the order, he turned around and left.
After receiving the decree, Zhu Di was even more unhappy than Feng Sheng.
Zhu Di looked at the imperial edict that had been placed in front of him, and after a long time, he was still confused. When Zhu Biao was patrolling the frontier, he was still telling him to send troops to clear the grassland and not give the Mongolian people a chance to breathe.
At that time, he repeatedly assured Zhu Biao that there were no Mongolian people stationed outside Peiping City, and he would send troops to continue deep into the grasslands to clear them up.
But how long has it been? Judging from the distance traveled by Zhu Biao and his party and the speed of eight hundred miles, I am afraid that his father and queen made this decree just after Zhu Biao returned to the palace to report to his father, right?
The contrast between this incident was so great that Zhu Di was overwhelmed.
After waving his hand and sending everyone else out, Zhu Di turned to look at the monk in black sitting beside him, "What do you think, Master, of this matter?"
The monk in black had a bald head and a solemn face. After hearing Zhu Di's question, he seemed to be very embarrassed and said: "My lord, this is very bad."
Zhu Di lowered his head and frowned, saying nothing, waiting for the monk's next words.
The monk in black did not disappoint Zhu Di's expectations and continued: "First of all, it must be the emperor's will for the prince to patrol the border. The words the prince said during the patrol must not be his own thoughts, but the emperor's."
Zhu Di nodded slowly when he heard this, "Zhu Biao is patrolling the border on behalf of his father, and what he conveys is naturally his father's intention."
"Since it was the emperor's intention to continue to suppress Meng Yuan at the beginning, and it is also the emperor's intention to recruit Meng Yuan now, then why is there such a huge contrast between before and after?"
This is also where Zhu Di is puzzled. His father's two decrees, one before the other, are completely opposite.
Although people often say that the heart of an emperor is unpredictable, but no matter how unpredictable it is, there are still some traces to follow, right? Where is there such inconsistency as now?
Based on Zhu Di's understanding of his father, such a situation had never happened before.
"Master, do you know why this is?"
The black-clothed monk pondered for a long time, raised his head to meet Zhu Di's gaze, and said word for word: "There is only one possibility... someone interfered with it and persuaded the emperor."
"Master, who do you think this person is?" Zhu Di asked eagerly after hearing this.
Based on Zhu Di's understanding of his father, there are not many people in the world who can persuade his father. There is one empress, and one Zhu Biao. Even he, the King of Yan, had no confidence that he could persuade his father. What's more, has the father's previous and later intentions changed completely in the opposite direction?
The monk in black snorted coldly, and the smile on his face was uglier than crying, "Who else do you think the prince can be?"
Zhu Di quickly put the Queen Mother and Zhu Biao aside in his mind. It was impossible for the Queen Mother. And Zhu Biao...since he has come here to convey his father's will, how can he persuade his father?
Suddenly, a person's smiling face appeared in Zhu Di's mind. Zhu Di was startled, and then he gritted his teeth and said sharply: "Han... Du..."
At this time, the monk in black also sneered and said: "Besides him, the poor monk can't think of anyone else."
"Why does this bastard always go against me?" Zhu Di angrily threw the teacup in front of him away and smashed it to the ground.
After Zhu Di finished venting, the monk in black said slowly: "The emperor's will can only be obeyed whether the prince is willing or not."
"I know, I don't need you to remind me!" Zhu Di was panting like an ox, and his whole body was heaving violently. It was obvious that just throwing a teacup could not calm his anger.
Compared to Zhu Di's anger, the monk in black smiled calmly, "Actually, this is not necessarily a bad thing for the prince."
Seeing Zhu Di looking directly at him, the black-clothed monk continued unhurriedly: "In the past, the prince could only recruit the Mengyuan tribe in secret. Now that the emperor has an edict, the prince can also do it openly. Guangming has appeased the Mengyuan tribe."
Zhu Di snorted coldly and shouted angrily: "Can this be the same? In the past, these Mongolian and Yuan tribes had no way out. I appeased them, and they were grateful to me. Now to appease them, they are grateful to the court and the Ming Dynasty."
This is like when Zhu Di secretly recruited the Mengyuan tribe, and the people he recruited were his own troops. Although he took a lot of risks, this move could greatly increase his strength, so it was worth it.
But now, if he goes to appease the Mengyuan tribe, he is working for the imperial court. The Meng Yuan tribe he recruited was to increase the power of the imperial court and had nothing to do with him.
How could this make Zhu Di not furious?
Of course, the black monk also knew the difference, and even more aware of Zhu Di's anger. Unfortunately, even as smart as him, he had no way to deal with this situation.
"There is nothing we can do about this..."
Zhu Di fell silent when he heard the words. After a while, he took a long breath and said: "Yes, with the imperial edict, I really have no choice. But I have long been used to such things, and my father will always do it." Give all the best things to Zhu Biao, even if Zhu Biao can't take it, he won't think of giving anything to me."
"But I will not give up. If it doesn't work once, then I will do it ten times. If it doesn't work ten times, then I will do it a hundred times. But I can't do it. Han Du can really have a wisdom as deep as the sea, and he will do it every time. Block it up..."
Zhu Di's eyes seemed to be on fire. He clenched his fists with white knuckles and gritted his teeth. He hated Han Du deeply...
The monk in black laughed when he saw it: "The prince is so perseverant, God will definitely not let him down. Although the prince has everything now, he is just a flower placed in the house, and has never experienced even a trace of wind and rain. As long as the shelter of the house is lost, all the flowers will be destroyed by the wind and rain. Don’t worry, Your Majesty, the poor monk will work hard to help you complete your grand plan."
Facing the monk's praise, Zhu Di showed no joy on his face. Instead, he said: "Brother Huang indeed benefited from the protection of his father, but he is by no means a good person. What's more, there is Han Du who is helping him. If you really think that these two people are just ordinary people who can be manipulated by you, then you'd better get out of here as soon as possible, and don't end up hurting me."
The smile on the black-clothed monk's face suddenly disappeared. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "What the prince taught me is that the poor monk deserves to die. He has suffered losses from Han Du several times, but he is not even wary of him."
"It's good that you have woken up." Zhu Di looked at the monk with great satisfaction. "The most terrifying thing about Han Du, a smiling tiger, is that he always smiles no matter who he faces. But his smile is the most confusing. , people will unknowingly ignore him, and even cannot help but believe what he says. Such people are the most terrifying."
"I remember this, poor monk." The monk in black nodded solemnly.
Then he suggested to Zhu Di, "Your Majesty, although the emperor's decree is irresistible, the emperor only asked us in the imperial edict to appease the Mengyuan tribe and open up mutual trade."
Zhu Di looked at the monk with burning eyes.
The monk in black had a plan in mind, and a smile appeared on his face again, and he said to Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, we can..."
Zhu Di listened carefully, and a smile gradually appeared on his face. In the end, he even couldn't help but smile and said: "The master has indeed lived up to my expectations. With such a clever plan, even if Han Du is as cunning as a ghost, I will let him do it this time." I lost my wife and lost my troops..."
...
The news that the Ming Dynasty was willing to accept submission and open up mutual markets quickly spread throughout the grassland like a hurricane.
The Meng Yuan tribe, who had been forced by the Ming Dynasty to stay away from Monan and prepare to go north to avoid the Ming Dynasty's suppression, stopped their march northward the moment they heard the news.
Monan, this is a place that the grassland tribes will never forget. Where is the best water source in the entire grassland? In Monan. Where is the richest grass in the entire prairie? In Monan.
If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't defeat the Ming Dynasty, no grassland people would choose to leave Monan. They wish they were born here, grew up here, and died here!
Now Daming didn't know what happened, but he was willing to take Monan out for them to graze. Although this may be a trick of the Ming Dynasty, the purpose is to attract them to Monan, and then gather them together and annihilate them in one fell swoop. But the temptation of Monan was still too great, making them want to give it a try even if they risked their lives.
The grassland is called a bitter cold place, but the further north you go, the colder it becomes. As long as there is the slightest hope, even if this hope carries danger, no grassland tribe hopes to go to Mobei without trying it.
Going to Mobei to seek refuge with a large tribe would indeed allow them to stay together and have a great chance of survival. But this is just a high hope. Even every tribe that chooses to go to Mobei has long been prepared to sacrifice or even be annexed by a large tribe.
But going to Monan is different. As long as there is pasture for grazing, the entire tribe can survive. Even if they occasionally encounter white disasters, with the support of the Ming Dynasty Mutual Market, they believe they can easily survive the white disasters.
On the one hand, the future is uncertain, but on the other hand, we just need to take the risk and give it a try. If it is true, then the whole family will be worry-free. With this kind of choice, every tribe leader knows how to choose.
As for the blood feud between them, is it a bit embarrassing to join them now?
The grassland tribes don't care about this. Their ancestors have gone through tribal disputes for generations. The blood feud between their tribes is even worse than the one with the Ming Dynasty. If they were silent in hatred, then Ming Dynasty would be happy, and they would fight each other to the death.
There is also surrender, which is even more shameless in the eyes of the grassland tribes. Only by relying on the strong can we survive. This is a concept engraved in our bones.
...
"If the market is cut off, the Mongols will turn into bandits and plunder; if the market is open, it will be easy for thieves to exchange what they have with others."
The construction of the mutual market is not complicated. Just use a wooden fence to encircle a piece of flat land, and then build some wooden sheds to protect it from wind and rain.
Thirteen mutual markets were opened at the same time. The first to enter the mutual markets were not the private traders, but the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry.
The Ming Royal Grain Industry is no longer just to protect grain prices and prevent them from being too high or too low. Under Yu Shaodong's management, Daming Royal Grain Industry had already extended its tentacles to all walks of life in the business. Spices and sugar from Nanyang, ginseng from Korea, and fur from Liaodong were all managed by the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry.
The exchange market is filled with the necessities of the grasslands such as grain, iron pots, salt, and tea. Of course, there are also rare spirits and sugar. However, considering that not many people may be willing to return these valuable things at the beginning, there is no reserve. There is plenty of food.
...
The news of recruiting the Mengyuan tribe has been out for a month, but no tribe has come to join them for such a long time.
Fu Youde was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. He was afraid that he would mess up the matter and be unable to explain it to the emperor. But the Meng Yuan tribe was hiding on the grassland, so he couldn't send troops to drive them all out, right?
If he sends troops for urgent matters, the Meng Yuan people who get the news may flee further and dare not approach.
Fortunately, things took a turn for the better soon. A small tribe on the grassland led several hundred tribesmen and drove a few cattle and sheep towards the Ming border.
This tribe was originally planning to flee north and seek refuge with the Oara tribe. However, they lost too many cattle and sheep in the escape. Even if they continued to go north, it would be almost impossible for them to reach the Oara tribe with these cattle and sheep, and they would all starve to death.
With no other choice, they did not dare to investigate whether it was true or false after receiving the news of Ming Dynasty's recruitment, so they rushed over without stopping.
A group of people came outside the Ming Dynasty's city gate and looked at the densely packed Ming army on the city tower, but they did not attack them immediately. The tribe leader Ahachu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Judging from the current situation, the news about Ming's recruitment may be true.
After all, let alone being close to Ming's city gates, even if they were still on the grassland, they might be attacked by Ming's rangers at any time.
But this time, miraculously, he didn't even encounter a group of rangers along the way.
Obviously, in order to show his sincerity, Daming even took back the Youqi.
After waiting outside the city for a while, seeing that Daming had no intention of attacking or opening the city gate, Ahachu stood up holding a spear with an animal skin hanging on it and shouted loudly: "Gulun tribe, Aha came out and came to join the Ming Dynasty. I hope the Ming Dynasty will open the city gates and let us go to worship."
When the general guarding the city heard this, he stood at the city gate and loudly replied: "Aha, the leader, has come to join us. I, the Ming Dynasty, welcome you very much. But please, Aha, please go ahead and wait for a while, and let me, General, report to the commander-in-chief for his decision!"
"Thank you, General Ming. We can wait." Aha saw that the Ming army was so easy to talk to, and his worries were relieved a lot. He has no objection at all to the Ming army asking him to wait. He has something to ask for now. As long as he can survive, what's the point of waiting?
Soon, Fu Youde got the news and came in person.
When they came to the city gate, they saw a small tribe with only a few hundred people. With a wave of their hand, they were asked to open the city gate and let them into the city.
Aha was waiting with his tribe against the wind and sand. Suddenly he saw the city gate slowly opening. He couldn't help shouting and told everyone in the tribe.
When these people looked at the slowly opening city gate, they seemed to see the hope of survival, and they also seemed to see the bloody mouth of hell opening wide.
"Please ask Aha to bring out the leader and lead the people into the pass." General Ming's voice came from the tower.
Ahachu and his tribe members all looked at each other. After walking through a city gate, it might be life or death. It was indeed difficult for people to make a choice.
After being silent for a while, Aha suddenly raised the spear in his hand and shouted loudly: "People, we have no way to retreat. With our current cattle and sheep, even if we retreat to the grassland, it will be a dead end. Mingren There is a saying that goes well, if you put yourself to death and survive, my clansmen will follow me into the city."
Aha's words caused a commotion among the tribe, but it quickly subsided. Indeed, as Aha said, they have no way out now and can only hope to survive...
The group of people came to the bottom of the city wall with anxiety, walked through the urn city, and waited until they passed through the dark city gate.
The moment Ahachu saw the sun shining on his face again, he realized that Da Ming had indeed not lied to him, and that Da Ming really wanted to appease him sincerely.
In just a short period of time, he and his tribe seemed to have gone from death to rebirth.
When Aha came out, there was already a general waiting for him. General Pian followed the etiquette of the grasslands and saluted Aha.
Since the Ming Dynasty has been fighting on the grasslands for many years, and even some generals in the Ming army were surrendered generals in the Yuan Dynasty, they are no strangers to the etiquette of the grasslands. Even some Ming army generals are familiar with the language of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties.
Seeing the Ming army general salute him with prairie etiquette, Ahachu was immediately flattered, and even felt closer to him.
"Aha, come forward and invite me. The commander is waiting for you."
"Your commander is waiting for me?" Ahachu was very surprised. A tribe like his with only a few hundred members was nothing on the grassland. The other big tribes didn't pay attention to him at all, and there was even a possibility that if one of them was unhappy, they would send troops to destroy him.
Ahachu, who had lived half his life, never thought that he would one day be able to meet the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty army.
"Exactly." Pian Jiang replied politely.
Aha Chu replied excitedly: "I don't dare to have General Lao Mingjun waiting for me. General, please take me to see you as soon as possible."
General Pian smiled and stretched out his hand: "Aha, please take the lead."
After saying that, he turned around and led Aha Chu towards the handsome tent where Fu Youde was.
After walking a few steps, Aha Chu quickly asked the question that concerned him the most: "May I ask the general, I heard that the Ming Dynasty opened up the mutual market. Is it true?"
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